March 5: "Shark Tank's" Daymond John, Founder of FUBU

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Immediate:  February 24, 2012Media Contact:  Alicia Steger 516.572.9634alicia.steger@ncc.eduncc.edu/releasesNassau Community College Presents:  Take the Plunge:  You Can Swim With the Sharks!Daymond John, "Shark" on Hit ABC Show "Shark Tank" March 5

Garden City, NY — The Nassau Community College Spring 2012 Cultural Program is proud to present Take the Plunge:  You Can Swim With the Sharks!, a presentation by Daymond John, one of the "Sharks" on the hit ABC business show "Shark Tank," and founder of the iconic fashion brand FUBU. The program will take place on Monday, March 5 at 2:00 p.m. in the College Center Building.In "Shark Tank," Daymond John and four other business executives potentially invest their own money in other entrepreneurs' projects based on the quality of their business pitch. John's creative vision helped revolutionize the sportswear industry in the 1990s. As founder, president and chief executive officer of FUBU — "For Us, By Us" — John created distinctive and fashionable sportswear and other related gear. FUBU's success made mainstream apparel companies realize the potential for fashionable sportswear that appeals not just to trendsetting urban youth, but to mainstream teens as well.Born in Brooklyn, John spent his childhood in Queens. His first foray into the apparel market came when he wanted a  hat and was put off by the price. After his mother taught him how to sew, John began to make distinctive tie-top hats in the morning and then sell them on the streets of Queens in the evening. One day in 1992, he and a friend sold $800 worth of hats and realized that their ideas had potential. They created a distinctive FUBU logo and began sewing it onto hockey jerseys, sweatshirts and t-shirts. John and his mother mortgaged their home for start up capital for the newly created company. In 1994, FUBU got $300,000 worth of orders at a trade show and a contract with Macy's. Later, a deal with Korean electronics manufacturer Samsung allowed their designs to be manufactured and delivered on a massive scale. At its height, FUBU had sales of $350 million annually. With the exception of its footwear, FUBU left the U.S. market in 2003 and built business in Europe and Asia. In 2010, FUBU re-launched in the U.S. as FB Legacy. The author of two books, John has won many business awards, including "Brandweek" Marketer of the Year, "Crain's New York Business" Forty Under Forty Award, and Ernst & Young's New York Entrepreneur of the Year Award.NCC Cultural Program events are sponsored by the Office of Student Activities, Student Personnel Services. For more information about "Take the Plunge:  You Can Swim With the Sharks!," call 516.572.7153.

Ref.:1586.2/24/12/180About Nassau Community CollegeNassau Community College, part of the State University of New York, is an institution where almost 24,000 full- and part-time students and nearly 15,000 continuing and professional students start and continue their successful journey through higher education. More than 70 fields of study are offered on a 225-acre campus located in the center of Long Island.. As the largest single-campus, two-year college in New York State, Nassau Community College maintains a national reputation for excellence.